tax information

Did you know that ALL international students & scholars must complete tax forms in the U.S.?

Yes, every international student & scholar (including F-2 and J-2 dependents) who was here in 2020 is legally required to complete tax forms for each year they were enrolled in the U.S., even if they do not earn U.S.-sourced wages. This page is to help you understand your F1 or J1 visa holder tax reporting obligations. If tax filing or forms are not correctly filed, international students could be penalized, assessed fees, and/or have difficulties renewing visas or changing status.

Important Tax Information

• The Office of International Education and Services staff will do our best to help you to meet your tax filing obligations. However, we are not tax professionals and will not assume any liability for incorrect information. Students are encouraged to seek the advice of tax professionals if they have questions they feel are not being answered by IES staff. For more information about taxation regulations in the USA, visit the Internal Revenue Services’ website at www.irs.gov and/or contact a tax professional knowledgeable of nonresident taxes.
• The taxation agency of the U.S. federal government is the Internal Revenue Service, commonly called the “IRS". The IRS Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens is the official publication with definitive information on international students' filing requirement.
• The income tax reporting for the previous year deadline is April 15. You must have your required tax forms for the year 2020 submitted by April 15.
• The majority of SEMO international students will file as a Non-Resident Aliens (NRA). A nonresident alien is an alien who has not passed the green card test or the “Substantial Presence Test”. This can be determined using the tax preparation service offered by IES if you had income. If you did NOT receive income, see Form 8843 in section below. Most international students and scholars are considered nonresident aliens for tax purposes.
• However, if in 2020 you had lived and/or studied in the U.S. for more than 5 calendar years, you are eligible to file as “resident for tax purposes.” Please note the term “resident” only applies to tax filing status and has nothing to do with your immigrant or non-immigrant visa status.
• There are no free tax preparation software services for NRAs. If you are an international student filing as an NRA and use a free online tax preparation, you are likely committing tax fraud.
• Most free tax services or widely promoted one (e.g. TurboTax) cannot do NR tax retruns.  Unless you have been a student in the US continuously since at least 2015, you cannot use these tax services.  
• 2020 is the first year international students can file their tax forms electronically (otherwise known as e-filing).  This will make your filing requirements much simpler!
• NRAs are not eligible to deduct educational expenses from their taxable income. If you are filing as an NRA, you can ignore the 1098-T you received from SFS.
• NRAs married to another NRA must file their tax forms separately.
• Keep copies of ALL tax documents. You may need these in the future.
• Merit-based scholarships (i.e, International Academic Excellence, International Academic Achievement, International Student Award) are not considered income!  However, athletic scholarships that cover more than educational expenses is.
• Almost all the documents you'll need to file your tax return are available online.  If you earned wages in the U.S. in 2020, the main document you need to file is your W2 form. Please make sure to contact your employer if you do not know where/how to access your W2 form. 

Who is a nonresident alien?

A nonresident alien is an alien who has not passed the green card test or the “Substantial Presence Test”. This can be determined using the tax preparation service offered by IES if you had income. If you did NOT receive income, see Form 8843 in section below. Most Southeast international students and scholars are considered nonresident aliens for tax purposes.

What forms do I need to complete?

The proper forms you need to file are determined by factors like how long you’ve been in the US and whether or not you earned wages. The Office of International Education and Services can help you in a few different ways. Please read below to determine what is the best for you.

Options for meeting tax filing requirements

1. Hire a local tax professional: There are several local accountants and tax preparation professionals who can help.  However, before doing so, please confirm with them they are trained and qualified to prepare non-resident alien returns.  Many local tax services are not!
2. Do your taxes yourself with Sprintax: The Office of International Education and Services is offering all students (and alumni on OPT) discounted access to Sprintax. Sprintax is one of the only online tax preparation services that specifically handles NRA returns. The cost for a Sprintax license is just $10, and will be billed to your student account. Once you have your Sprintax license, you can go through their system on your own. (Please note: if you did not have U.S. sourced wages in 2020, there is no need to purchase a Sprintax license. Please refer to the “if you were enrolled in classes in the U.S. in 2020 but did not receive any U.S.-sourced income” section above for information on how to meet your filing requirement.)
3. Due to the COVID-19 situation, we will no tbe able to host any oncampus workshops.  However, a series fo Zoom webinars will be recorded to help walk you through the Sprintax system.

Click here to order a Sprintax license.

Click here for the Sprintax instruction guide for the 2020 tax year.

Tax help videos

Since we could not have tax workshops this year, the following videos have been created to help you with your filing requirements.  

• Overview
• For those who enrolled in 2020 but DID NOT earn wages
• For those enrolled in 2020 and DID earn wages
  • Using Sprintax part 1
  • Using Sprintax part 2

Disclaimer:International Education and Services does not provide certified public accounting services. As a sponsor of F and J programs, IES informs current students and scholars of maintaining status and their civic responsibilities while in the USA, including taxes. For more information about taxation regulations in the USA, visit the Internal Revenue Services’ website at www.irs.gov and/or contact a certified public accountant knowledgeable of nonresident taxes.